Nuclear waste removal sought

The operators of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station promised Monday to make a good-faith effort to find a location to move the 3.55 million pounds of nuclear waste that has accumulated on the plant’s premises between the Pacific Ocean and one of the busiest freeways in the country.

Southern California Edison made the announcement in an out-of-court settlement filed in San Diego between the utility and two San Diego-area plaintiffs who sued after the California Coastal Commission in 2015 approved a 20-year permit for Edison to expand a storage system to place the plant’s spent nuclear fuel into heavy, dry casks.

The settlement was approved Monday by Superior Court Judge Judith Hayes.

Under the agreement, Edison commits to make “commercially reasonable” efforts to relocate the spent fuel to another facility. Among the possible sites is the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona, about 50 miles from Phoenix.

Locations in eastern New Mexico and West Texas are also mentioned.

Edison executives also committed on Monday to assemble a team of experts to develop a plan to relocate San Onofre’s spent fuel. The panel would be made up of authorities in engineering, radiation detection, and nuclear waste siting and transportation.

In addition, Edison vowed to develop a more expedited inspection program for the waste at San Onofre and produce a contingency plan should any of the canisters crack or leak.

rob.nikolewski @sduniontribune.com